Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer born on February 19, 1963. She is best known as the author of two major series.

Her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series centers on Anita Blake, a professional zombie raiser, vampire executioner, and supernatural consultant for the police. This series includes novels, short story collections, and comic books, with six million copies in print.

Her other major series, the Merry Gentry series, focuses on Meredith Gentry, Princess of the Unseelie court of Faerie, who is also a private detective facing repeated assassination attempts. Both series follow their protagonists as they gain power and navigate worlds where creatures of legend exist.

Several media outlets, including USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and Time, have recognized her works as significant contributions to the urban-fantasy genre.